Attacks on Hindus and Hindu Dharma, both in Bharat and overseas, are frequent and unrelenting. In many regions of the world, this persecution is like a genocide slowly unfolding before our eyes. For decades, the world has ignored the actual depth and breadth of these attacks, driven by disturbing anti-Hindu bigotry. From murders, forced conversions, land grabs, assault on festivals, desecration of temples and murtis, hate speech, and sexual violence to institutionalized & legal discrimination, Hindus are facing an increasing assault on their very existence along with an unprecedented Hindu hatred.

In this weekly summary for the period from 10 December to 16 December 2023, we hope to provide a snapshot of such crimes and hopefully awaken more people around the world to this human rights crisis:

Bharat

1) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 15 ISIS terrorists. The accused had declared a village in Thane ‘Al-Sham’ a ‘Liberated Zone’ like Syria. They were administering an ‘oath of allegiance’ to recruits.

2) Mehndi Hussain raped a 15-year-old after kidnapping and taking her to different locations. The incident was reported from Gujarat’s Palanpur.

3) In a shocking incident in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, a shopkeeper named Ashish and his mother were reportedly subjected to a near-lynching by individuals identified as Mohd Parvez, Mohammad Danish, Mohammad Dilshad, and Mohammad Sameer. The altercation ensued after the shopkeeper requested payment from the accused for the food they had purchased.

4) A tailor named Sohanlal Jatav in Rajasthan’s Alwar district filed a complaint with the police after reportedly receiving a death threat from the banned radical Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).

5) In a troubling incident in the Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, a case of alleged Love Jihad has emerged, with a man named Shoaib accused of forcibly converting an 18-year-old Dalit girl to Islam. The victim’s father has disclosed that she endured sexual abuse and was coerced into consuming beef.

6) Maharashtra Police booked 16 persons for launching a brutal attack on Gorakshaks and threatening them with death in the Loni region of Ahmednagar district. Niyaz, Saddam, and Arbaaz were among those arrested.

7) A Shraddha Walker-like murder in an interfaith relationship has sent shockwaves across the state of Jharkhand. The victim, 21-year-old Archna, was found dead, and her boy was recovered from two separate wells, with one carrying the torso and the other carrying her head. The accused in this case has been identified as her alleged lover, Mohammad Ehsaan, alias Badal.

8) Gujarat cyber crime department arrested Congress’s Scheduled Caste (SC) cell President Hitendra Pithadiya for posting a fake photo of a priest of the Ayodhya temple.

9) A 22-year-old man was stabbed to death by his ‘friend’ Nawab over a minor dispute of ₹3000. The incident took place in Khurja city in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. As per reports, the victim was identified as Sameer.

10) A case of gang rape has come to light from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Muslim youth Rehan lured a married woman, first befriended her and then invited her to the hotel to meet him. There, he mixed intoxicants in a cold drink and made the woman drink it and raped her. He also made a video of it secretly.

11) Mahesh, the brother of Bittu Bajrangi, suffered severe burns when unidentified individuals poured petrol on him and set him on fire. The incident occurred at 1 am in Faridabad Dabua Sabji Mandi, where Mahesh and Bajrangi own a shop. A group of 4-5 people approached Mahesh, inquiring about his relation to Bittu Bajrangi. Upon confirming his identity, they doused him in petrol and ignited the flames.

12) A man who urinated outside Kali temple and broke windows was identified as Saddam. Dehradun police have arrested him.

13) An incident of love jihad has come to light in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, where an auto-dealer named Ashraf Mansoori masqueraded as Ashu to trap a 23-year-old Hindu girl into a relationship with him. He then sexually assaulted her while feigning marriage, however, when she asked him to fulfil his promise, he forced her to embrace Islam.

14) In a recent development, the High Court has granted conditional bail to Asif Musthaheen, a man arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), stating that the evidence presented did not sufficiently establish the accused’s involvement in a terrorist conspiracy. The court raised questions about whether targeting Hindu religious leaders alone could be considered a terrorist act. 

15) In Maharajganj district of UP (Uttar Pradesh), a Muslim youth first raped a minor girl and then made a video of it and shared it with his friend. The friend also started blackmailing the victim through the video. Hurt by this, the girl consumed a poisonous substance. However, the doctors were successful in saving her life by administering timely treatment.

16) A fresh case of love jihad has come to light from Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, where a 16-year-old Hindu girl was sexually assaulted by 23-year-old Faisal, who tricked her into falling for an erroneous romantic relationship on social media.

17) News of the abduction and gang rape of a Janajatiya woman has been reported from Dhupguri of West Bengal. Based on the complaint, the Police already arrested 3 Islamists while another one is absconding. 

18) Mumbai police arrested a 23-year-old man named Dildar Hussain Ali from a forest in Assam’s Sonitpur district for recording a nude video of a victim from Andheri (East) and subsequently using it to extort money.

Pakistan

Abduction, rape, forced conversion, and marriage of minor Hindu girls are common occurrences in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. At least 1000 minority girls suffer such sex slavery every year in Sindh province alone. Apart from this, Pakistani Hindus face systemic and institutionalized discrimination and neglect, such as frequent attacks on Hindu temples, demonization of education curriculum, police and judicial antipathy, denial of fundamental rights, and even untouchability. This latest instance of the brutal rape and murder of a Bheel woman in Pakistan is yet another proof of the pitiable condition of Hindu minorities in Pakistan.

1) A video has gone viral depicting a Hindu woman being prohibited from drinking water in a Pakistani university library simply because of her non-Muslim identity. The emotional footage captures the woman breaking into tears as she recounts the undignified treatment because she was non-Muslim.

Bangladesh

Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh are relentless and designed to cleanse the religious minority from the country gradually. According to a study by Prof. Abul Barakat of Dhaka University, no Hindus will be left in Bangladesh by 2050 due to systemic and institutionalized persecution. Temple desecration, land grabbing, mob attacks after false blasphemy charges, rape/forced conversion of women, and hate speech are tools used to intimidate and drive Hindus out.

1) A married Hindu woman was gang-raped by unidentified goons. Although the woman filed a complaint, the Police is yet to make an arrest. The incident has been reported from Pirojpur town in Bangladesh.

2) After the gang-rape of a Hindu woman in Pirojpur, a Hindu girl was gang-raped in Batighata of Khulna district. The girl’s marriage was scheduled to happen just a few days later.

Most hate crimes are driven by anti-Hindu bigotry encoded in certain religious teachings and political ideologies. While the anti-Hindu hate in Islamic countries is evident, there is another subtler form of anti-Hindu sentiment within institutions and the public sphere of ostensibly secular states (like India) that provides an enabling environment for Hinduphobia and hate crimes. This subtle, everyday discrimination can be missed unless one studies prevailing laws and patterns. The gradual ban on firecrackers during Diwali is a good example – it might seem pollution-related on the surface. Still, the double standards at play become apparent when one looks at the larger picture of restrictions on Hindu festivals and the lack of sound reasoning behind the ban.

We request all readers to share other anti-Hindu hate crimes that we might have missed in this period in the comments below or by emailing [email protected]. We also solicit support in maintaining the Hindu human rights tracker database.